Young Pilot In Crash Was Working On Dream

The first was business: Swanson had to register at Illinois State University in Normal, where the 20-year-old from Lake Barrington was to begin classes in the spring semester.

The second reason was closer to Swanson's heart: He wanted to be a commercial pilot and needed to log more hours toward his goal, said his father, John Swanson.

Swanson's ambitions were cut short on his way home Sunday afternoon when his four-seat airplane inexplicably went down in a cornfield near Winfield. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Authorities said Monday they had little idea what caused Swanson to crash. The wreckage of his rental airplane, a Piper Warrior, was moved from the cornfield to an undisclosed location where it will be examined by investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, said Pam Sullivan, an NTSB investigator.

Sullivan said she also plans to examine Swanson's record as a pilot and maintenance records from the airplane, which was owned by Northwest Flyers, based at the Schaumburg Airport.

"We don't have any comment until we get some facts straightened out here," said Skip Barchfeld, president of Northwest Flyers.

Residents reported hearing the plane fly low over their homes just before 2 p.m. Sunday and then a thud as it landed in the cornfield, about a half-mile west of Central DuPage Hospital.

"God, was that awful. I'm sitting there and a plane crashes next to me," said Shirley Chase, who lives nearby. She said she was getting ready for a bridal shower when she heard a whining sound like a "kamikaze" plane and then saw the crash.

"He just came on an angle straight down," she said.

All that remained of the crash Monday afternoon was an 8-foot-long hole and a wide swath of corn that had been matted down by rescue vehicles.

The cause of the crash was clouded by allegations that Swanson had "buzzed" dormitories late Saturday night at Illinois State.

Normal police Capt. Kent Crutcher said several witnesses called police about 11:30 p.m. Saturday and reported that a small airplane was "skimming the rooftops" of dormitories with its lights out.

Police told the control tower at the Bloomington airport to be on the lookout for a small plane. Five minutes later, the tower called to report that Swanson's plane was landing.

Police interviewed Swanson and his three passengers after they landed and gave Swanson a breath-alcohol test, which he passed, Crutcher said. Swanson and his passengers, who were not identified, denied flying near the university or buzzing dormitories, he said.

There was nothing to indicate that the incident was related to the crash. Witnesses said it appeared that Swanson had some sort of problem with the airplane and attempted to land the plane in the cornfield.